Mumbai: A fabricator involved in the collapse of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at a fort in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district was reportedly arrested on Thursday. Parmeshwar Ramnaresh Yadav, who was taken into custody from Uttar Pradesh, used substandard materials while constructing the 35-foot-tall statue of the revered Maratha warrior king.

A technical investigation revealed that the statue had rusted in several places, confirming the use of low-quality materials. The police noted that Yadav not only used inferior material but also failed to properly weld the statue’s parts, contributing to its eventual collapse, as per a Times of India report.

Yadav Sent For 3-Day Remand

The statue, which was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg on December 4, 2023, fell on August 26, 2024, during strong winds. Yadav, a key figure in the statue’s construction, was identified as an accused after a thorough investigation and was later remanded in police custody for three days.

Before his arrest, other individuals involved in the project, including the statue’s sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte and consultant Chetan Patil, had already been taken into custody in connection with the incident.

The collapse of the statue, which was dedicated to the founder of the Maratha Empire, led to major embarrassment for both the state and central governments, given its symbolic importance and the timing of its unveiling by the Prime Minister just nine months earlier.

New Statue To Be Constructed By ‘Statue Of Unity’ Maker

In response to the incident, the Maharashtra state government awarded a new contract to Ram Sutar Art Creations, a firm known for its prestigious work on the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, which honours Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Led by Anil Ram Sutar, the company is now tasked with constructing a new statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in Sindhudurg. This time, the statue will be 60 feet tall, nearly doubling the height of the previous one.

Taking extra precautions to avoid another collapse, the new contract includes a stipulation that the statue must last at least 100 years. Furthermore, the builder will be responsible for its maintenance for the first decade, ensuring that proper materials and techniques are used in its construction.

UP police on Thursday released a video showing the two accused Sarfaraz and Mohammad Talib, who allegedly killed Ram Gopal Mishra on October 13 in Bahraich, being taken to a police jeep after they were shot while trying to escape to Nepal. 

In the video, cops wearing bulletproof vests can be seen carrying both the accused who were writhing in pain after being shot in their legs. One of the accused can be heard telling the cops that they wanted to run away and that is why they fired at them. 

Amitabh Yash, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), Special Task Force, Uttar Pradesh told news agency that five accused in the matter have also been arrested. 

“A total of five people who are the main accused in the case have been arrested. A short exchange of fire took place in which two people were injured. The injured are Sarfaraz and Mohammad Talib. There is no death and the injured have been taken to the hospital,” Amitabh Yash said.

Injured accused admitted to hospital for treatment

ADGP (Law and Order), STF Uttar Pradesh said that two people were injured in the encounter and were admitted to a hospital for treatment.

SP Bahraich, Vrinda Shukla said that “5 people have been arrested. Two of them have been injured in police firing. I am here to assess their condition. One of the injured is Md. Sarfaraz, the other other is Md. Talib.” Ramgopal Mishra was killed while several others were injured after a clash erupted between two communities during the Durga idol immersion procession in the Mahasi area in the Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

Earlier today, Bahraich Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Sanjay Kumar Sharma said that Ramgopal Mishra, who was killed in a clash that erupted between two communities during the Durga idol immersion procession in Bahraich, died due to “excessive bleeding”, officials said.

The CMO said, “The information that we have – that man died of excessive bleeding due to 25-30 pellets injuries. There are some injury marks above his left eye and on the toes. Some part of the nails of both the feet is also missing.” 

Appealing to not spread misinformation on social media, Superintendent of Police (SP) Rural, Pavitra Mohan Tripathi said, “To disturb the social harmony, misinformation is being spread on social media – there’s been a single death in the incident and the reason for death is also clear in the post-mortem report which is bullet injuries. I request people not to spread misinformation and also not to believe in any of such misinformation. The situation is peaceful in the district.” 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that providing justice to the family of the victim of the Bahraich violence is the government’s top priority, and the culprits will not be spared at any cost. He said this after meeting with family members of the deceased of the Bahraich incident in Lucknow.

The family has been provided Rs 10 lakh, a house under the PM Awas Yojana, and an Antyodaya card.

On October 16, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led state government also initiated action against police officials.

According to the police, the procession was passing by a Muslim area when the two groups argued over some issues.

A contract of ₹ 25 lakh was taken out to kill actor Salman Khan near his farmhouse in Maharashtra’s Panvel, a chargesheet filed by the Navi Mumbai Police stated.

In the chargesheet that named five people, police stated that the contract was taken out by the gang led by jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The accused were preparing to buy state-of-the-art weapons AK 47, AK 92 and M 16 from Pakistan and the Turkish-made Zigana weapon, with which Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala was killed. The accused had hired boys below 18 years of age to kill Salman Khan, all of whom are hiding in Pune, Raigad, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Gujarat.

About 60 to 70 people were keeping track of Salman Khan’s movement, especially at his Bandra house, Panvel farmhouse and Goregaon Film City. Further, the plan to kill Salman Khan was hatched between August 2023 and April 2024, as per the chargesheet.

Investigation revealed that Sukkha who was arrested from Haryana’s Panipat on Thursday, assigned the hit to the designated shooter Ajay Kashyap alias AK and four others involved in the conspiracy. A recce by Kashyap and his team led to the conclusion that owing to the actor’s tight security and bulletproof vehicles, high-end weapons would be required to carry out the murder.

Sukkha contacted Pakistan-based arms dealer Dogar through video call, showing AK-47 and other advanced fire arms wrapped in a shawl, while negotiating the terms of the arms deal. Dogar agreed to supply the weapons, while Sukha agreed to make 50 percent advance payment and the remaining amount on delivery in India.

Police also found that all the shooters were waiting for a go-ahead from Canada-based gangster Goldie Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother Anmol Bishnoi.

The chargesheet also details a plan made by the shooters to gather in Kanyakumari after shooting the 58-year-old actor, from where they would travel to Sri Lanka by boat and then to a country where Indian investigation agencies could not reach them.

The conspiracy to target Salman Khan at his Panvel farmhouse was unearthed when the police was investigation the incident of firing outside his house in Bandra.

Meanwhile, security has been increased outside Salman Khan’s Bandra residence following the killing of former minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique. The latter, a former MLA from Bandra and leader in Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), was shot near Nirmal Nagar in Bandra.